Full Bloom
by wildmushrooms
Summary: A series of vignettes about Iris Spengler, daughter of Egon and Audrey. Spanning her earliest years through to young adulthood, these stories explore the themes of family, friendship, first love and of course, first heartbreak. Created as a bridge for her future adventures with the Ghostbusters.
1. Chapter 1

**"Spookums" **

New York City in the summer of 1992 was hot enough to peel paint off the walls.  
At least that's what if felt like to Audrey Spengler, wife of Egon and mother to two month old Iris.  
She was sure it was her hormones to blame for the mini heatwaves that would ripple through her skin at odd hours of the day and night.  
She fanned her face with a copy of _Parapsychology Monthly_ while reclining on the couch in her lounge room, Iris suckling hungrily from her breast.  
Audrey relished in her duties as a mother.  
It seemed to come naturally to her, although she had feared for the worst after a turbulent pregnancy.  
It helped too, that Iris was such an easy baby.  
She was quiet, rarely letting out more than a whimper when she needed something.  
Audrey found herself waking in the middle of the night just to check on her, to make sure she was still breathing.  
Egon would smirk, convinced it was the irrational fear of a new parent, or possibly just her crazy hormones.

Things had changed so much in the last two months since Iris's arrival.  
Egon, after his long disappearance on a ghost busting mission only a few months prior, had resumed his position at Columbia University while still researching and maintaining equipment with the Ghostbusters on the side.  
He'd felt ghost busting, with all its potential dangers, was too risky with a wife and child at home (although he did sometimes have a twinge of longing for the adventure of it all). His employment at Columbia had also put an end to his strange night-time hours at the Firehouse, which suited his perfectly as he wanted nothing more than to get home to his family every afternoon.  
Audrey, meanwhile, had put her teaching on hold to raise Iris full time.  
She was more than happy with the arrangement but during the daytime hours when Iris was asleep, she'd find herself longing for some adult interaction.  
She'd begun contemplating doing some further study while she had the time.

Audrey awoke with a start as a key turned in the front door signalling Egon's arrival home.  
_Did I just fall asleep_, she asked herself as she peered down at Iris, who was still feeding.  
A newborn baby meant stealing sleep whenever possible, even unintentionally.  
"Look Iris, Daddy's home!" said Audrey in a singsong voice to Iris as she sat up, cradling Iris gently in her arms.  
"Good afternoon, how is everyone?" asked Egon as he bent over the couch and kissed Audrey's forehead before stroking a hand through Iris's thick black hair.  
"We're good. Currently having an afternoon snack, as you can see," replied Audrey with a smile as Egon placed his briefcase down and hung up his jacket.  
Audrey began to break out in a sweat at the thought of wearing a jacket in this heat.

Once she was fed, Audrey handed Iris to Egon.  
Egon held her over his shoulder and tapped her back gently as he paced around the room and spoke to her softly about his day.  
Audrey was surprised by how quickly Egon had taken to fatherhood, especially considering how awkward he could be with people sometimes.  
As a father he was gentle, loving and endlessly patient.  
Egon had even surprised himself at the overwhelming feeling he had to protect his family, a feeling so primal, so unexpected.

Audrey stood up from the couch with a yawn and began heading to the bathroom for a shower.  
"Have you noticed she does that?" asked Audrey as she paused to observe Iris.  
"Noticed what?" replied Egon with a wince as he tried to peer over his shoulder, expecting to find a trail of fresh vomit down the back of his shirt.  
"How she seems to stare at things that aren't there," replied Audrey as she followed Iris's line of vision to a bare white wall. "I've noticed her doing it quite often."  
Egon turned around to face the wall.  
Iris, now facing away from the wall, began to squirm in Egon's arms, desperate to see the wall again.  
"Odd" replied Egon with a furrow of his brow as a number of theories began to circulate through his mind.

When Audrey returned from the bathroom, freshly showered and feeling almost human again, she found Iris lying on a rug on the floor with Egon peering over her, PKE Meter in hand.  
"What are you doing?" asked Audrey, thinking Iris had just become a new science experiment.  
"Audrey, I don't want to alarm you but I think Iris might be sensitive to supernatural phenomenon" he replied matter-of-factly, looking up from the readings on the PKE Meter.  
"What?" replied Audrey, completely confused by what Egon was saying.  
Egon lay down his instrument and carefully picked up Iris, passing her to Audrey.  
"See how she's drawn to certain spots?" he asked her as Iris began to stare at the wall again. "When I run my PKE Meter over the area, it brings back a reading. Nothing major, a class one at best, but still something. Iris seems to recognise the energy."  
"What does that mean? Is she okay? Is she safe?" asked Audrey, looking down at the chubby faced baby in her arms, a rush of worries overcoming her.  
"She's completely fine. Just an interesting observation, that's all. It's as if she's intuitive to spiritual presence" he replied as he rubbed his chin in thought.  
"I wonder what Ray would think of this..."  
"I don't want Iris to become an experiment, Egon," replied Audrey.  
"Oh no, of course not" answered Egon as he placed a reassuring hand on Audrey's back and kissed her cheek.  
He looked down at his daughter, her eyes bright blue and alert as she looked up at him.  
He wondered what it meant.  
Did Iris have a gift or was it just the untainted openness of a child that allowed her to see apparitions?

In the months that followed, Egon and Audrey observed Iris carefully.  
It soon became evident that Iris did indeed have a gift for spotting ghosts – a prospect that delighted Egon yet terrified Audrey.  
Either way, it earned baby Iris a nickname – Spookums.


	2. Chapter 2

**"Birthday Girl" **

Iris celebrated her first birthday on the rooftop of her parents' apartment.  
The private space belonged to Egon and Audrey and Audrey had spent many hours tending to the now lush and abundant garden that grew alongside the sprawling concrete city.  
Flowerbeds that overflowed with blossoms in shades of yellow, pink and white surrounded a large vegetable patch.  
There was a large wooden table and chairs in the centre of the space, shaded by a leafy vineyard that grew overhead, supported by metal frame build by Egon.  
Small clusters of fruit hung from the vines, ripe and juicy in the heat of the summer.  
Of course, Audrey knew her garden would be nothing without her beloved potted Iris's – the symbol that had come to represent both her love for Egon and her daughter.

Sitting around the table and chairs in the late afternoon sun was Egon and Audrey, Ray, Linda, baby James, Janine and Louis, plus Peter who looked somewhat uncomfortable surrounded by couples and babies.  
Iris, wearing a frilly pink dress, a flowered headband nestled upon her thick dark hair, was sitting on Audrey's lap.  
Her eyes glowed as the single candle upon her birthday cake flickered brightly.  
She smiled at the sight while everyone around her sang 'Happy Birthday.'  
Before she knew it, the candle had been blown out (with some help from her parents) leaving behind a white wisp of smoke.  
Audrey kissed Iris's head and made a wish on her behalf.

Placed on a rug next to James, Iris ate her first ever slice of cake while Linda snapped away with her camera.  
"Can you believe how cute these two are?" Janine squealed in between Linda's shutter clicks while Iris smeared cake into her mouth.  
"I really think Louis and I would make excellent parents. We'd love to babysit sometime to get more practice..."

Egon and Audrey looked at each other and smiled.  
"How can Iris be one already?" Audrey whispered to Egon as she squeezed his hand.  
"Beats me," replied Egon. "I wonder if there's a theory surrounding the augmented perception of time when you have a child?" he mused as he spooned cake into his mouth.  
The last year had gone so quickly.  
Iris was reaching milestones at a breakneck pace, learning to not only walk but string short sentences together too.  
She was able to flip the pages of her favourite storybooks, build towers out of blocks and she also had a knack for dismantling anything mechanical including, to Egon's surprise, his PKE Meter.  
Being able to do these things before her first birthday had leading a number of specialists to conclude that Iris was intellectually gifted.  
Considering she's the daughter of Egon Spengler, it wasn't hard to believe.  
Iris was still showing sensitivity to ghostly presence, only now she was able to describe what she was seeing to Egon, who had begun keeping a detailed file of all the encounters.  
Audrey, meanwhile, having been inspired by Iris's giftedness, began studying a PhD in Education at Columbia University – specialising in the identification of giftedness in the early childhood years.

"Oh, by the way, Uncle Pete bought a present," said Peter with a lopsided grin as he handed Egon a bottle of red wine with a pink bow around the neck.  
"Thanks Peter. I'm sure Iris will really appreciate it's vintage" replied Egon sarcastically.  
"Sheesh, give me a break. How was I supposed to know what to bring to a kids party?" he replied with a shrug of his shoulders.  
"You know, I never thought I'd be able to handle another kids party…" piped up Ray as an anxious look spread across his face as he reflected on all the awful parties he used to host with Winston.  
"Aww, you mean you're not going to put on any entertainment for us today?" shot Peter with a faux upset expression.  
"I think it's safe to say that the Ghostbusters will never have to stoop to hosting parties for snotty-faced brats again," replied Ray as he lit up a cigarette.  
"You mean to say the franchising opportunities are coming to light?" asked Peter excitedly.  
The idea of franchising, expanding the Ghostbusters, being the silver tongued spokesman of the business appealed to Venkman more than anything. It was his chance to really shine as a member of the team.  
"We've had significant interest from around the country, yes" replied Ray as Linda took the cigarette from between his teeth and stubbed it out.  
"I'm trying to quit," finished Ray with a defeated shrug of his shoulders as he caught Peter's amused expression.

"Do you think you'll have another one?" Linda asked Audrey as they watched Iris and James on the rug.  
"Another baby? We talked about it, but I think we're both content with how things are" replied Audrey truthfully. "How about you and Ray?"  
"We'd both love more children. When James gets a little older I think we'll try again."  
"I GIVE CAKE TO JAMES!" interrupted Iris as she shoved a handful of smooched cake and icing onto James's face, causing him to break into a surprised wail.  
"Ha, are you sure you're up for that?!" replied Audrey with a chuckle as she scooped Iris up and out of the way of James.  
"Happy birthday, Spookums," she said softly as she lifted Iris into the air. "And many happy returns."


	3. Chapter 3

**"Happy Halloween"**

It was a cool overcast evening.  
Linda took in the sights as she walked down the street – costumed children and adults at every turn, giggling infectiously as they collected candy from the spookily decorated neighbourhood houses.  
James and Iris walked along beside her, each holding one of her hands.  
It seemed the two children, Iris now 6 and James 5 and a half, were drawing a lot of attention with their costume choice this year.  
They were both wearing grey jumpsuits and black boots, homemade cardboard Proton Packs strapped to their backs.  
This year they had both wanted to dress as their heroes - Ghostbusters, just like their dads.  
Only Iris and James were much smaller and cuter.  
Iris currently stood a head taller than James.  
Tonight her long dark hair was tied back in a ponytail, bangs hanging over her forehead, framing her face and the round glasses she wore over her eyes.  
James was a little chubby, with short dirty blond hair and a wide grin across his face.  
As they made their way from door to door, they drew plenty of admiration from other kids and adults too.  
After all, the Ghostbusters were still very much regarded as heroes - and rightly so after all they had done for the city.  
Plus Ray had taken much delight in creating their costumes over the last few weeks, making sure they were as detailed as possible.  
_They both look so adorable_, Linda thought proudly as she looked down at the two children walking along beside her, each with a skip in their step as they filled their bags full of candy.

James and Iris were the best of friends.  
They were inseparable – playing together all day during Preschool and again after school, plus every weekend was spent between their two apartments, which luckily were only a stones throw from each other.  
They both loved all things related to science and the paranormal.  
They'd spend hours playing games, reading ghost stories and building their own versions of ghost busting tools.  
Iris, who was now able to read academic literature, was well on her way to understanding scientific concepts most adults would struggle with.  
James, meanwhile, was just as eager to learn.  
Ray and Egon encouraged their children's interests, seeing bright futures ahead for the two of them.

Earlier in the evening, Linda and James had gathered with Audrey and Iris for some pre-Halloween photographs.  
"Thank you so much for taking them out tonight, Linda" said Audrey with a smile as she ushered her and James into the apartment.  
"No problem, Halloween is my favourite holiday!" replied Linda.  
Iris ran from her bedroom wearing her costume, all ready to go, and greeted James with a complicated handshake that only the two of them knew how to do.  
They began chattering excitedly about their game play to claim the most candy in between posing for Linda as she snapped away with her Polaroid camera.  
"Okay you two, we'd better get going if we want to get around the whole block and be home before it gets too late," said Linda as she caught a glimpse of her watch.  
"Again, thanks so much Linda. I have a stack of papers to mark, so you're really helping me out tonight!" said Audrey gratefully before leaning down and straightening up Iris's costume.  
Audrey, her PhD finally finished, now had a position lecturing at Columbia University.  
It meant lunch breaks with Egon on the days he was at the university too, plus much better pay than when she was teaching - both were nice perks.

Just then, Egon entered the room while concentrating on looping a tie around his neck.  
"Dad! Look!" piped up Iris, desperate to show off her costume to Egon.  
Egon looked up, suddenly aware that his lounge room was filled with people.  
"Oh hi Linda, James." he offered before catching a glimpse of Iris.  
"Wow, you guys look great" he said as he bent down and admired Iris and James's costumes up close. "I especially like the detailing on the Proton Packs. I think your dad did a good job with these, James."  
"Yeah, totally! Me and Iris are gonna catch a lot of ghosts tonight!" he said as he drew his gun and pointed it theatrically around the room, his eyes narrowing as if expecting a ghost to fly into the room at any moment.  
"Iris and I," interjected Linda.  
Egon smiled at James's enthusiasm.  
It reminded him so much of Ray, it was uncanny.  
"Well, just remember not to cross the streams unless you meet up with Gozer tonight, okay?" replied Egon with a smile as he kissed Iris on her head and stood back up.  
"Alright you two, we _really_ have to go now" said Linda, glancing at her watch again.  
"Yeah, we gotta get around the whole block and be home before it's too late!" said James and Iris in unison, playfully mimicking Linda's words from earlier.

Once they'd left, Audrey and Egon exchanged amused looks with each other.  
"God, those two are _obsessed_! I've never met two children that love their fathers as much as Iris and James!" remarked Audrey with a giggle.  
A smile spread across Egon's face.  
He couldn't have been more proud.  
"We're so lucky to have each other" finished Audrey with a content look in her eyes.  
She moved to Egon and hugged him tightly, hearing his heartbeat as her ear pressed against his warm chest.  
Last year he had turned 40.  
They were getting older and it was ever so slightly beginning to show.  
Egon's hair had begun sprouting the odd grey hair.  
His stomach had rounded out, just a little, after all these years of Audrey's cooking.  
Audrey meanwhile had cut her long wavy hair to shoulder length and had begun dressing less fashionably and more sensibly.  
None of it seemed to matter to either of them.  
Having been together for nine years, their love was as strong as ever, it had just evolved into something more settled, safe.  
"I love you" Egon muttered as he held onto Audrey, the smell of her perfume awakening his senses.  
"I love you, too" replied Audrey as she buried her head further into his chest.  
"Err, I really need to be getting to work now" said Egon, interrupting the mood. "You know Halloween is our busiest night."  
Audrey reluctantly let go of Egon.  
"Of course" she replied with a sigh.  
The Ghostbusters always needed all hands on deck on Halloween.  
There were always loads of mischievous ghosts causing havoc in the city every year as partygoers mess around with seances and Ouija boards.  
"Good luck, I hope it's not too chaotic out there" she replied.  
Egon looked down at Audrey tenderly, wanting to stay with her a little longer while they had the apartment to themselves.  
He brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and kissed her forehead gently.  
"Happy Halloween," he whispered before leaving.  
"Happy Halloween..."


	4. Chapter 4

**"Bring Your Daughter to Work Day"**

2001 had brought a great deal of change to New York City.  
Egon and Audrey had debated for months about leaving.  
Swapping their inner city apartment for a house in the leafy green suburbs, switching the uncertainty of the city for suburban safety.  
Ultimately they decided against it, after all, this was their city, Iris's city. Their apartment was her birthplace. It was home.

* * *

The following year, Iris Spengler turned 10 years old.  
She was tall and lanky for her age, towering over James and the rest of her school mates, but as precocious as ever.  
Her height made her self-conscious, resulting in her being introverted and unable to relate to others her own age.  
Except James.  
James was the only other person her age who understood her, the only one who _wanted_ to be her friend.  
But the two were happy to have their own exclusive club.  
No one else understood what it was like to be the offspring of a Ghostbuster anyway.

It was a regular Saturday morning when Iris awoke and reached to her bedside table for her glasses.  
With a yawn and a rub of her eyes she put on her glasses and sat up.  
_Hang on,_ she thought. _It isn't a regular Saturday at all!  
_Audrey had left the night before for Australia, a long overdue visit to see her parents.  
It meant that Egon was in change of running the household - a prospect that had led Audrey to cook a freezer full of meals and write several long lists of emergency phone numbers.  
It also meant that Egon was going to have to take Iris to the Firehouse with him today if he was going to have any chance of working on his fifth round of psychomagnotheric slime studies.

After breakfast (cereal with chocolate milk - Egon had accidentally bought it in place of regular milk), Egon and Iris caught a cab to the Firehouse.  
It was a place that had always delighted Iris.  
The clutter, the mustiness, the tools and gadgets, it had all captured her imagination and fed her love for science.  
As Egon held the heavy front door open for her, Iris entered the building and took a deep breath.  
She trailed her dad to the office, where he pulled off a couple of Post-it note messages from the pinup board and read them with furrowed brows.  
Janine greeted Iris with a wide grin as she stood and watered a droopy looking pot plant on her desk.  
"Hi Iris! Gee, you're getting tall!" she said, causing Iris to hunch her shoulders self-consciously.  
Janine looked over at Egon who was busy flicking through a stack of paperwork, and whispered to Iris.  
"If you open up my top draw, I have a candy bar for you. Make sure you share it with James."  
"Thanks Aunt Janine!" replied Iris as her mouth began to water.  
She'd definitely inherited Egon's sweet tooth.

Iris followed Egon upstairs where Peter lay on the couch looking sorry for himself.  
"Hi Uncle Peter!" piped up Iris, causing Peter to wince.  
"Hi kiddo," he replied with a scratchy voice.  
"Oh no, are you sick?" she asked.  
"Something like that," replied Peter, holding a hand to his head.  
"That's called veisalgia, Iris. Observe and avoid," said Egon, casting a smirk in Peter's direction.

On the next level of the Firehouse was Ray, who was hunched over the cluttered workbench pouring spoonfuls of slime into test tubes, a look of deep concentration on his face.  
James was behind him, spinning around and around on a chair, bored.  
Egon couldn't help but smile at the scene - it was a perfect reminded of how their lives had simultaneously changed and stayed the same.  
"Morning" greeted Egon, bringing Ray back to reality.  
"Morning" he replied before turning around to James and stopping his motion mid spin.  
"Enough, you'll make yourself sick" Ray told him firmly.  
James slid off the chair and moved to Iris, who was still standing at the door to the research room.  
Normally she would enter and take her time looking at all the chaotic experiments, the paperwork, but today she was in the mood to explore somewhere else.  
They greeted each other with their secret handshake before excusing themselves from the room.  
"Don't touch anything that looks expensive" came Ray's advice.  
"Also leave Peter alone, I don't think he's in the mood for conversation" added Egon as they left.

"Where are we going?" asked Iris, as James led the way downstairs.  
"Let's go check out the basement" replied James. "Dad's been working on something cool down there."  
They snuck past Janine who was at her desk, her nose buried deep in a trashy romance novel, and tiptoed down the stairs to the basement.  
As they entered the dank and dimly lit workspace, they found Slimer.  
He was as disgustingly ghoulish as ever, but a lot less mischievous.  
As he hovered in the air, he picked up a handful of nuts and bolts from a large box and distributed them between two containers, sorting them.  
Iris furrowed her brows at the sight.  
"Dad let this guy out of the containment unit. His name is Slimer and he's one of the first ghosts they ever caught. Dad's trained him to be a helper around the place. Pretty neat, huh?" offered James.  
"Yeah, really neat" replied Iris, slowly stepping towards the ghost.  
She wondered if she could talk to him, interact with him. Iris had always had a gift for ghosts.  
"Hi Slimer," she said, reaching her hand out to him.  
Slimer stopped what he was doing, letting a handful of nuts and bolts scatter across the floor, and stared at Iris intently.  
Iris held out her hand, offering it to Slimer, hoping to get a feel of him.  
Slimer leaned close to her, as if wanting to tell her something.  
"What is it Slimer? What do you want to say?" asked Iris, staring up at his large eyes.  
"UUUURRRRP!" replied Slimer, letting a large, stinky burp erupt from his mouth, coating Iris in a fine mist of slime.  
He turned away from her, completely unfazed, and went back to work.  
Iris turned to James, her face caught between shock and horror.  
"Get me a Kleenex!" she demanded to James as she began wiping slime from her cheeks.  
James was too busy laughing to hear.

* * *

"Er, the kids have been awfully quiet..." said Ray to Egon, interrupting the silence they had been working in for the last half an hour.  
"You're right" replied Egon, his eyes widening.  
The two raced downstairs in a frantic rush to find Iris and James.  
After a mad couple of minutes, they hurried down the basement stairs and stopped in their tracks at what they saw.  
Iris and James were sitting of the floor in front of Slimer, helping the ghost sort handfuls of nuts and bolts and placing them into their correct containers.  
They were chatting with Slimer, who seemed happy enough to reply with a mixture of oohs, aahs and grunts.  
Occasionally they would praise him and toss him a piece of chocolate from Iris's candy bar.  
"So this is how you've been getting all those extra jobs done, hmm?" Egon asked Ray with a raise of his brow.  
"It's just a little side project" replied Ray sheepishly. "He's surprisingly useful when rewarded with doughnuts, and Hershey bars too, it seems."  
"Let's head back upstairs, these two seem okay down here" replied Egon as he and Ray snuck back upstairs undetected.

"Do you ever get the feeling that the next recruits are already in training?" Ray asked Egon with a chuckle as they re-entered the research room.  
"All the time" replied Egon with a smile. "Just don't tell that to Audrey and Linda."


	5. Chapter 5

**"Growing Pains" **

"That's it! I'm _never_ talking to him again!" announced Iris as she entered the apartment and slammed the door shut behind her.  
She marched across the lounge room, her eyes angrily focused ahead, and entered her bedroom before slamming her door shut with a loud bang.  
Audrey, who was laying on the couch reading a book, sat up and exchanged confused looks with Egon who was typing away on a laptop at the dining table.  
"What was that about?!" she asked him with a look of confusion across her face.  
"Beats me, but a double door slam scenario requires more complex communication than I can offer" replied Egon with an equally confused look, the glare of the laptop screen glowing white across his face.  
"Okay, I'll talk to her" replied Audrey, laying her book on the coffee table and standing up.  
She made her way to Egon, wrapped her arms around his shoulders and kissed his cheek.  
"You owe me" she whispered playfully before squeezing his shoulders and moving towards Iris's bedroom door.

Audrey stood at her door for a moment, trying to gather all her most useful life experiences and meaningful advice.  
With a hormonal teenager on their hands, Egon and Audrey didn't know what kind of drama to expect next.  
Gently cracking the door open, Audrey entered the room to find Iris laying facedown on her bed, sobbing heavily into her pillow.  
Iris's bedroom didn't resemble that of a regular 13 year old girl.  
Where posters of boy bands and movie stars should have been, instead were posters of her own heroes: scientists, former Nobel Prize winners, prominent paranormal investigators and of course, newspaper clippings and articles about her biggest heroes - the Ghostbusters.  
Shelves lined the walls, each one crammed with trophies from past spelling bees, science fairs and maths contests.

Audrey sat down carefully on Iris's bed and gently stroked her long, dark hair.  
"What happened?" she asked softly, breaking through the sobs.  
Iris sat up, crossed her long pale legs and wiped her nose on the sleeve of her cardigan.  
She hesitated, not really knowing what to say.  
Iris often felt tongue tied when asked about her feelings.  
Logical theory and scientific hypothesis were easy to discuss - but emotions were an area she struggled with.  
"It's James" she finally offered.  
"James?"  
"Yes. His male friends are just...wretched" she replied with a sigh.  
She was still extremely close to James, they were still best friends, but over the last year James had begun to spend more time with his male friends.  
It was a move that had secretly hurt Iris.  
James was one of only a very small handful of friends she had.  
It wasn't as easy for Iris to make friends.  
She was shy and awkward, never really knowing what to say to others.  
She was all too painfully her fathers daughter, despite Audrey's best efforts to socialise her as much as possible.  
James on the other hand was funny and easygoing, which made him popular amongst his peers.  
Making friends for him was easy and he was ready to spread his wings and develop a more rounded set of friends - not just Iris exclusively.

"Did they do something to upset you?" asked Audrey.  
"They just tease James all the time about being friends with me. I'm afraid James will start listening to them and not want to be friends with me anymore" replied Iris truthfully. "They also have the worst taste in music."  
Audrey smiled.  
She figured it was the result of puberty and both Iris and James finding their place in the world.  
"Iris darling, you've grown up with James. No matter what happens, you'll always be close. Maybe it's also a good time to start seeing your own friends more often as well."  
Iris looked thoughtful for a moment, weighing up the situation.  
"Yeah, I guess you're right. I'm probably overreacting about James anyway" she replied as she pushed her black framed glasses up the bridge of her nose.  
"No, I don't think you're overreacting, Iris. It's good to feel emotion, it means you care a lot about your friendship with James" answered Audrey, taking hold of Iris's hand. "Gosh, it took me ages to finally get your dad to talk about his feelings..." she concluded with a smile, recalling the early stages of their relationship, all those years before.  
Iris lent forward and wrapped her long arms around Audrey, holding her mother in a tight hug.  
"Thanks, Mom" she whispered.  
"Don't mention it, Spookums. You know your dad and I are always here for you - and I'm sure James is too."


	6. Chapter 6

**"First Date"**_**  
**_

Iris checked her reflection in the bathroom mirror one final time.  
Her thick, wavy brown hair was tied back into a ponytail, revealing her clear, pale skin beneath.  
Luckily Iris had inherited her mothers skin - smattering of freckles across her nose and all.  
Tonight she had decided to wear her contacts, her large blue eyes on display - again, another lucky feature from her mother.  
She felt pretty as she stared at herself.  
It wasn't a feeling she had often, she was always too busy with more pressing issues than her looks, but tonight it was important.  
Tonight was Iris's first date.

* * *

It had all come about rather suddenly.  
During History class, Alex had passed a note to his friend Brad, who had then passed it on to Sarah, who snuck it under the table to Alice, who was then able to give it to Iris.  
Carefully unfolding the slip of paper while the teachers back was turned, Iris read the note:

_I think your cute. Want to go to the movies with me some time? Alex :)  
_  
Iris couldn't help but notice the glaringly obvious spelling mistake, but chose to ignore it anyway.  
After all, a boy - an _actual_ boy was asking her out on an_ actual_ date!  
And not just any boy.  
Iris had been nurturing a crush on Alex for the last two months (at least) and Alex had done the same for Iris.  
It all began when they were paired up as lab partners during a science experiment in class (Iris had prevented Alex from clumsily setting his sweater on fire over the flame of a Bunsen burner, but that's another story).  
Since then they had taken an interest in one another; shy glances and stolen smiles from across the cafeteria and if they were both feeling particularly brave - chatting in the hallway between class.  
Iris could barely control the butterflies in her stomach whenever she saw him, but luckily she had Egon's poker face, so no one else would have suspected a thing.  
Except James, Iris's closed friend and confidant, who could read Iris like a book.  
He'd playfully tease her about her crush, enjoying watching her squirm and flush a deep shade of pink, before turning back to one of his beloved _Captain Steel_ comic books.  
Iris stared down at the note in her hands, which were beginning to shake - a familiar sign that she was nervous.  
This was uncharted territory.  
_What do I do now,_ she asked herself, a sudden flash of panic racing through her mind. _Do I write a reply? Talk to him after class? I probably look like a real idiot staring at this piece of paper right now...  
_Iris glanced cross the room at Alex, who was staring at her, waiting anxiously for a sign.  
She let an awkward smile grow across her face.  
He smiled back.  
It was official, Iris and Alex Moonbottom were going on a date.

* * *

"Iris, are you nearly finished in there?" asked Egon through the bathroom door. "I need to take a shower. Your mother and I have dinner plans in half an hour and I smell like a sulphuric class five full roaming humanoid. By the way your mother is looking at me from across the room, I don't think she finds it particularly appropriate or appealing."  
Iris unlocked and opened the bathroom door.  
"Sorry Dad, I didn't realise I'd taken so long" she replied as she began to walk gingerly past Egon.  
"That's okay, Spookums..." he began, before pausing, suddenly caught off guard by Iris's change in appearance.  
"You look different. Where are you going?" he asked with a suspicious raise of his brow.  
"Err, just... just to the movies" she replied, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she tried her best to avoid eye contact.  
"With who?" enquired Egon, the lines in his forehead deepening as his daughter acted coy.  
"Oh, just, you know... a friend..." she replied quietly before clearing her throat. "Actually, I'm kinda late, so I'd better be going..."  
She quickly dashed off out of the apartment after a hasty goodbye to Egon and Audrey.

"Did I miss something?" Egon asked as he turned to face Audrey, more confused than ever.  
Audrey rolled her eyes at him.  
"A genius like you with two women in the house - anyone would think you'd be a little more knowledgable about the female persuasion!" she chuckled.  
Egon's look of confusion remained, so Audrey explained.  
"She's going on a date, Egon. Her first date."  
"With... a _boy_?" he stammered, suddenly feeling the hairs on the back of his neck prickle.  
"Yes, Egon. With a boy. And we'd better get a move on!" she replied, suddenly standing up. "Come on!"

After a quick shower, Egon and Audrey pounded the pavement.  
This Friday night was cool, bright and busy.  
"So where are we going for dinner?" Egon asked, a pang on hunger rippling through his stomach.  
"We're not going to dinner, silly!" replied Audrey in a hushed voice as she quickened her pace around a bustling street corner.  
"Then where are we...?" asked Egon, feeling confused all over again.  
"We're going to the movies!" she answered, tugging at his coat in an attempt to hurry him along.  
"Oh no. Audrey, no!" he replied, suddenly aware of Audrey's plan. "We can't spy on Iris if she's on a date. I'm not keen on the idea of her being alone with a boy myself, but I think it's highly unethical to be..."  
"Oh come on! Don't pretend that you don't want to make sure your daughter is safe. This is New York City, as if I'm letting her walk the streets and sit in the dark with a teenage boy unsupervised!"  
"You're being highly emotional and irrational, Audrey" Egon replied with a slow shake of his head. "...But you're right, teenage boys can't be trusted."

* * *

It only took around 9 minutes into the action blockbuster before Alex began to creep his hand slowly across the armrest to Iris.  
It only took another 5 seconds before the two of them were holding sweating palm in sweaty palm.  
Pure bliss.  
Meanwhile, tucked away in a discreet corner, Audrey tried her best to spy on her daughter.  
"I can't see them, it's too dark!" she whispered.  
"I think this was a bad idea," whispered Egon in reply. "Come on, let's get out of here."

Egon and Audrey wandered across the road to a coffee shop and sat in the arched window, giving them both a perfect view of the cinemas front entrance.  
Audrey sipped her hot chocolate, lost in thought.  
Egon smiled at his wife.  
Her blonde hair, cut into a neat bob, was fading into a softer shade of pale - but she was as lively and as loveable as ever.  
Egon was still completely smitten with her.  
"What are you thinking about?" he asked her before taking a sip from his own cup.  
"Just Iris. Can you believe she's 15? God, she's grown up so quick..."  
"I know. It seems just like yesterday she was analysing rock samples under her first telescope..." replied Egon, feeling Audrey's nostalgia stir in his own mind.  
"And now look at us" replied Audrey, "We're old!"  
Egon smiled.  
He liked the flecks of white hair on his head, the wrinkles that formed when he smiled.  
He felt comfort in having Audrey by his side, a constant companion after all these years.  
"Do you think we've been good parents?" Audrey asked.  
"I know we've been good parents. You were born to be a mother."  
"Do you really mean that?" she asked, her voice wavering.  
"What's brought this on?" replied Egon with a tilt of his head.  
"I don't know. I guess it's just hit me that Iris is becoming an adult. Before we know it, she'll be leaving for collage, ready to live her own life, without us" she answered, staring out the window.  
Egon reached across the table and held Audrey's hand in his.

* * *

After the movie, in a dark lobby corner, Alex thanked Iris for coming to the movies with him.  
"I've been wanting to see that movie for ages!" he said, still pumped from the endless parade of over the top explosions and limited character development.  
"Thanks for inviting me" Iris replied with a shy smile.  
Their hands had been glued for the duration of the film, she'd barely been able to eat any popcorn.

Alex and Iris stood in front on one another for a moment, waiting for the last of the audience to filter out around them.  
When the lobby was quiet again, and when Alex thought no one was watching, he lent in and pressed his lips against Iris's before quickly pulling back.  
"Oh!" gasped Iris, caught by surprise.  
They stared into each others eyes for a moment, their hearts pounding so loudly in their chests they wondered if the other could hear it.  
This time they moved into one another at the same time, slowly, drawing close.  
Their lips met.  
A kiss, soft and sweet.  
Iris's first.

She went to the bathroom and fixed her hair before making her way across the road to the coffee shop where her parents were still seated.  
"I had a feeling I'd find you too here!" she said with a smug grin as she walked up to their booth, catching them both by surprise.  
"Iris! How did you know...?!" asked Audrey, her eyes wide, like a deer caught in headlights.  
"Oh come on, Mom. Like you weren't going to follow me!" she replied with a chuckle as she slid into the booth beside her.

The three of them sat together, chatting and laughing happily as they each sipped hot cocoa, all three of them filled to the brim with love...

...although Iris's love for Alex ended a week later when he was seen kissing a blonde cheerleader named Jessica behind the bleachers.

(Egon was right - teenage boys can't be trusted.)


	7. Chapter 7

**"Moving Forward"**

"BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!" shrilled the alarm clock at precisely 6am on a late spring morning.  
With a groan, Iris reached her arm out towards her bedside table, feeling around for the alarm clock with her fingers.  
When she felt the cool metal surface, she pressed down on it firmly, bringing the room back to a comfortable silence.  
Unfortunately today was not a day for sleeping in.  
She was due to give her final thesis presentation at New York University in a couple of hours.  
The final hoop to jump through until she could graduate in the fields of both physics and parapsychology, with a minor in mathematics.

Iris yawned and stretched her arms out before remembering where she was and with whom.  
"Good morning," came a sleepy voice from beside her.  
"Good morning," replied Iris, breaking into a smile and snuggling down into the warm body beside her.  
Iris had spent the night with Jeremy Richmond, a dark haired, dark eyed student from her physics class.  
Iris and Jeremy had been dating for the last ten months.  
An exciting and passionate romance that had begun so unexpectedly it had caught Iris off guard.  
She had never intended to begin a relationship while studying, believing it would only be a hindrance to her.  
But here she was, in the bed of the man she thought about constantly, the man she had admitted to falling in love with, the man she had lost her virginity too.

She kissed him softly on his forehead and took a deep breath, wanting to capture his scent before she left him for the day.  
"Good luck today Iris, I'll be thinking of you" he whispered in a sleepy haze.  
"Thanks, I think I'll need it," she replied before slipping out of the covers and digging around Jeremy's dorm room floor for her clothes.  
"With a beautiful body like yours, how could they deny you?" asked Jeremy playfully as he watched her from the comfort of the bed.  
Her long lean body, a pale contrast against her long dark hair.  
Her big blue eyes.  
Her sharp wit and intelligence.  
She was beautiful.  
So beautiful it hurt him inside.  
"Ha. Don't even go there. I've spent months working on this presentation. If it comes down to my appearance then..." shot back Iris, feeling herself firing up as she hurried into her jeans and t-shirt from the night before.  
_God, as if it wasn't already hard enough being a woman in a predominantly male field of study..._ she thought to herself.  
"It was a joke Iris, relax!" he replied with a chuckle before Iris flung a shirt from the floor at him, smacking him in the face.  
"Good, it had better be! See you tonight!" she said before flinging herself out of his dorm room.  
She hurried back to her own dorm, running the presentation through her mind along the way.

* * *

"Excellent work, I. The presentation couldn't have gone any better than that!" said James excitedly as he and Iris emerged from the Research building at NYU.  
"I still can't believe it!" replied Iris, a rush of relief suddenly hitting her like a ton of bricks. "You were great James. Well done!" she finished, before the two of them embraced in an excited hug.  
Iris and James had both been accepted to NYU and had spent the last four years studying side by side.  
It had been their choice to distance themselves from Columbia University, both wanting to make their own way in the science field without any feelings of favouritism because of their fathers ongoing work with the university.  
Not that it would have mattered.  
Both Iris and James were naturally brilliant scientists in their own right.  
"Want to go get some pizza to celebrate? My buy!" asked James, eager to celebrate their success.  
"I wish I could, but I'm meeting up with Jeremy. In fact, I'd better go now otherwise I'll be late," replied Iris, catching a glimpse of the time on her phone.  
"Okay, well call me later," replied James, not surprised at all by Iris's engagement.  
After all, she'd spent all of her time with Jeremy lately, to the point that it had made him feel a little jealous.

* * *

"Iris, I've been thinking..." started Jeremy after taking the last bite of his cheesecake.  
Iris and Jeremy had just finished dinner at one of their favourite late night restaurants.  
Jeremy had been unusually quiet all night and Iris figured she was about to find out the reason why.  
"Hmmm?" she replied, urging him to continue.  
"Well... you know how I feel about you..."  
"Uh huh," she replied, wiping her mouth with a napkin.  
"Well, we're about to graduate and you know that means I'll be returning home to Seattle afterwards. So...how would you feel about... about moving back to Seattle with me?"  
The question hung in the air, unanswered.  
Iris didn't know what to say.  
"Move to Seattle with you?" she replied blankly after an awkward silence.  
_Did he really just ask me to move all the way across the country with him,_ she asked herself.  
"Yeah. I mean, I love New York, but Seattle is my home. If you were to come with me we could easily find work, buy a house together..."  
"Buy a house together? You want to live with me, full time?" asked Iris, suddenly feeling the enormity of the question he had just asked.  
"Yeah of course I do" replied Jeremy, reaching for her hand. "I love you. I want to live my life with you."  
Iris took a deep breath.  
"Jeremy... I..." she couldn't find the right words.  
How could she tell him that she loved him, but not enough to relocate. Not enough to contemplate buying a house together, get married...  
She didn't have to.  
Jeremy looked into her eyes and squeezed her hand.  
Deep down he knew this was going to be her reaction, but he figured he'd give it a shot anyway.  
"I'm sorry..." she started. "My life is here. I want to focus on my career. I don't feel ready for such a serious commitment yet. I love you, but I'm sorry. I can't"  
He nodded.  
He understood.  
Suddenly he was the one without any words.  
Iris's first real relationship, her first love, was over.

* * *

Jeremy and Iris parted on good terms.  
They promised to keep in contact, remain friends, but they lost touch not long after Jeremy returned to Seattle.  
She had heard from friends that he'd found a good research position straight away, and was seeing someone new.  
Iris felt okay about it.  
After all, she had to keep moving forward.


	8. Chapter 8

**"An End and a Beginning" **

The party was already in full swing by the time Iris arrived.  
She sighed heavily and pushed her way through the throng of college kids milling about the rental house, Kanye West music thumped from a stereo somewhere.  
She really hadn't felt like coming tonight.  
Iris hated partys like this, and besides, she'd been looking forward to spending the night in the lab, sterilising the beakers and test tubes.  
But James had insisted.  
_Where was he,_ she began to wonder as she passed through each of the rooms, avoiding the flirty senior stares around her, trying to find her friend.  
She suddenly felt her phone buzzing in the pocket of her jeans.  
Digging it out, she could see it was a text from James:  
_Come upstairs, walk into the third bedroom on the right and look out the window :)_  
Iris quickly found her way upstairs.  
Following the instructions in the text, she slowly walked up to the open bedroom window and peered out, not quite knowing what to expect.  
Suddenly, a head poked up right in front of hers.

"There you are!"  
It was James.  
A bright smile beamed across his face.  
"Come on, come out here!" he said excitedly, encouraging Iris to crawl through the window and out onto the roof of the two storey house.  
"Are you sure it's safe?" asked Iris, eying the roof tiles suspiciously in the moonlight.  
"Of course, come on!" he replied, oblivious to her safety concerns.  
Iris climbed through the window and moved gingerly across the roof before sitting herself next to James in the centre of the roof.  
They sat there in silence for a moment, basking in the night time charm.  
They were completely alone up there.  
The party was raging below them, yet it was strangely calm and quiet on the roof under the glow of the full moon.  
James thought about how glad he was to have Iris all to himself again now that she had broken up with her boyfriend.  
Then felt a pang of guilt.  
His feelings for her had changed lately.  
He couldn't quite put into words how.  
He was still pondering his feelings when Iris broke the silence.

"Oh I nearly forgot, here" she said before passing him a silver hip flask from her jacket pocket.  
"What's this?" he asked as he unscrewed the cap and sniffed a potent alcoholic smell, nearly burning his nostril hairs in the process.  
"It's that vodka we've been brewing in the lab," she replied with a sly smile.  
James laughed, remembering their unauthorised science experiment, before taking a swig.  
He began gagging.  
"Ugh, that's awful," he replied, a look of disgust across his face. "Oh well, at least we tried. Here, have a taste."  
He passed the flask back to Iris.  
She took a quick swig, mirroring his look of disgust.  
"Ugh, that is repugnant," she sputtered.  
James laughed at her, prompting Iris to punch his arm playfully.  
They looked at each other and laughed, the hit of alcohol taking effect.

"I've really missed you these last few months, Iris," said James quietly, a lopsided grin on his face, making him look just like his dad.  
"I've missed you too," replied Iris as she tucked a piece of wavy brown hair behind her ear. "I can't believe we're graduating."  
"I know, it's amazing," he replied, looking up at the stars.  
"What's next for you?" asked Iris.  
"Well, you know dad's keen to have me work for Ghostbusters as an apprentice. He loves the thought of us both working together in the family business."  
"Yeah. You'll make an excellent Ghostbuster" replied Iris with a smile.  
It was true, he would.  
James was thoughtful and clever and possessed the same kind of dedication and enthusiasm as Ray.  
He'd be an excellent asset to the Ghostbusters.  
Ghost busting was in his blood.  
"What about you?" asked James, expecting her to follow the same path.  
"Well," she began.  
"I've been accepted to complete a PhD at a university in Sydney. I'm going to be leaving in a few weeks and I'll be gone for a year. I'll be living with my grandparents in Manly while I'm there."

Silence.  
"What? When were you planning on telling me this?" asked James, hurt that she'd applied, hurt that she hadn't told him, hurt that she would be leaving to the other side of the world for the next year.  
"I've only just been accepted, you're the first person I've told" she replied with a shrug of her shoulders.  
"I can't believe you'll be leaving. For a whole year. To Australia."  
He scratched his head, something he always did when he was confused of nervous.  
"What about Ghostbusters?"  
"James, I'll be back. It's only a year. I need some time to be on my own, learn some new things, hang out with my grandparents, find out more about where mom grew up. I'll be coming back" she said, placing a reassuring arm around him.

"So this is it. The end. The last night before everything changes forever," replied James with a heavy sigh, taking another swig from the hip flask and staring up at the sky.  
"I guess" replied Iris, taking the flask from James and having another sip.  
They both sat in silence for a moment before Iris continued.  
"We both have so much to look forward to, you know," she whispered. "This is only the beginning, James. This is only the beginning."


End file.
